To go to work wearing what will look like a hijab?

[AveAtqueVale]

Recently had a nasty face/ head injury and surgery afterwards; this has left me with very weird looking hair on one side, dramatic looking scars and sticky things in various places and most irritatingly an incredibly sensitive ear that starts niggling painfully at me if any breath of air moves against it. Mostly because of the last issue I've been wearing a beanie or a woolly scarf tied under my chin all the time at home.
I'm going back to work for the first time tonight (doctor) and it has occurred to me that the beanie or scarf will look very weird, and that I don't particularly want to have an 'omg what happened to your head?!' conversation with every patient I see, not to mention being constantly annoyed by ear pain. I have a few nice silk scarves - would I be unreasonable to wear one of these tied neatly rpund my head and neck like a hijab? I feel it will look a lot smarter than the beanie and cause less comment from patients than letting it all hang out, but I don't want to offend or upset Muslim colleagues who know I'm not!

It's not 'like hijab' it's just a scarf. Hijab is what it is because of the reason why it's worn. Otherwise it's a scarf. And of course you can wear one.

Will you get patients thinking you are having Chemo instead? Head scarfs and indoor hats are unusual. Would a dramatic hair cut and a big headband to protect your ear work?

It's been common across a lot of different cultures to cover our heads, so tbh your Muslim colleagues don't get a say. It's often used as an argument for pro hijab that Nuns wore head coverings. We used to wear scarves and not just to cover rollers. We covered our hair in Church. A lot of African women, who are Catholic and different religions wear tied scarves/cloth over their hair. So go ahead and find what suits you. I'd seasonally theme your covering. Patients would assume it is incase you have a child/vulnerable/anxious etc patient.

Sometimes you have to put yourself first - are you really well enough to be in work?

I think a hat /beanie will look unprofessional as culturally we expect hats to be removed indoors, whereas a headscarf would be a normal accessory to wear, we see ladies in headscarves all the time , for various reasons (cultural, religious, healthcare) so less likely to provoke any curiosity.

Anyone who gets offended at you wearing a headscarf or other hijab style covering is just looking for something to be offended by to be honest.

How about something like this?

https://www.amazon.ie/Kavya-Headband-Headscarf-Accessories-B%C3%A1ndearg/dp/B0FTYYRBRP/ref=asc_df_B0FTYYRBRP?mcid=854ed74a96803e548f71219778beec08&tag=ieshopgosmp-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=781825997928&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12986294099282453994&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007877&hvtargid=pla-2450611485813&psc=1&language=en_IE&gad_source=1

Do your close colleagues not know what has happened to you? Why would they be offended by you wearing a scarf?

I don’t think you’re ready to go back to work if you have to wear all that tbh. But if it’s just a case of other peoples opinions yes it will look odd but you can just say you’ve had surgery and your ear is sensitive.

I really feel the cold, and sometimes tie a large silk scarf as a kind of turban to keep me warm. (And so I don’t have to do my hair) there are loads of YouTube tutorials. For reference I’m a white woman and no one has ever asked me weird questions about chemo/ religion.

https://dk.pinterest.com/pin/11962755257984613/

I can pretty much guarantee not a single Muslim colleague or patient would be remotely 'offended'. We don't own the rights to wearing something on our heads, it's fine.

Wear the scarf, no one culture or religion owns a head scarf.

Pretty sure the late queen used to wear a scarf on her head sometimes 🤷🏼‍♀️

Wear it and rock it! X

This is really nice.

I would find out quite distracting wondering if my patients/colleagues are thinking that I've converted to Islam, even if they couldn't care less, it would still niggle away at me. So something like what this PP said would make me feel much more confortable.

Go to Google, look at cool ways to tie head scarves, then click images. Scroll through for some that might work for you. Most done look anything like a hijab.

Wishing you well in your recovery.

Don't be silly OP.

Your colleagues don't have the monopoly on headscarves and you know it.

A beret, baker boy or peaked cap is an autumnal indoor hat as alternative to beanie which feels more outdoorsy

@AveAtqueVale
I lost my hair this summer because of chemo. I've worn a variety of scarves, beanies, turbans and hats for 6 months,
whatever you wear won't be mistaken for a hijab
Wear what you feel comfortable in but google chemo hats/beanies and you will get a huge array of alternatives

You said that you have to deal with patients? Do you work in nursing or in a hospital or clinical setting?

If so, do you think that one of those scrub caps that you see nurses in the US wearing as normal uniform could pass?

If not, I think that there's quite a few different ways of wearing headscarves that don't look definitely religious or chemo.

Especially as you are not missing all of your hair and could maybe style the more decent looking bits outside the scarf to soften the look for a while?

Get well soon OP, anyway.

Seems fine. No one culture owns headscarves.

This!

When a woman states that she’s a doctor, asking her if she’s a nurse is verging on the misogynistic belief that women can’t be proper doctors.

I can’t imagine that wearing a headscarf would be a problem.

I bought a collection of scarves when I suffered from Alopecia. I really looked awful in the scarves (Sinead O Connor I wasn't) and i just got used to wearing my hair differently. I really don't think anyone will think you are emulating a hijab, no religion has a patent on head scarves

Sorry, I read too quickly. I'm normally very careful to read thoroughly, as I don't think I've made mistakes like that before in other posts.

Apologies again.

Wear what makes you comfortable OP
That nerve pain is horrendous so comfort first and other peoples thoughts a very distant afterthought.

A scarf like your granny would have worn to the shops? I’ve had a few friends go through chemo and one with alopecia and they’ve tied scarfs around their heads - you can actually buy some nice ‘chemo hats’ on Amazon that either look like a hat or are tied to look like a scarf that you pull on.

I hope you are getting better.